As the beef cattle industry continues to modernize with the
adoption of new technologies such as RFID to track individual
animals it will become easier to track the health status for
individual animals. Ekips Technologies is helping to accelerate
this trend by developing a breath test for rapid identification of
animals that have respiratory disease.
Bovine respiratory disease (BRD), commonly known as shipping fever, affects young calves that are mingled at auctions, feedlots, livestock shows and in trailers. It is the most costly disease among feedlot cattle with annual losses estimated at $1 billion. Affected animals do not gain weight efficiently and are more costly to manage. Supported by funding from the USDA, Ekips has conducted research on the measurement of specific biomarker molecules in exhaled bovine breath.
Preliminary results support the development of a rapid breath test to assess respiratory health in cattle. Industry adoption of this improved diagnostic tool will enable more effective management of affected animals and will facilitate the judicious use of antibiotics in treatment.
Bovine respiratory disease (BRD), commonly known as shipping fever, affects young calves that are mingled at auctions, feedlots, livestock shows and in trailers. It is the most costly disease among feedlot cattle with annual losses estimated at $1 billion. Affected animals do not gain weight efficiently and are more costly to manage. Supported by funding from the USDA, Ekips has conducted research on the measurement of specific biomarker molecules in exhaled bovine breath.
Preliminary results support the development of a rapid breath test to assess respiratory health in cattle. Industry adoption of this improved diagnostic tool will enable more effective management of affected animals and will facilitate the judicious use of antibiotics in treatment.
